Brandy was born March 29th 2002, and in
the parlance of dog breeders
was known
initially as "Purple Female" after the color of the little unique-colored collar
the breeder placed around each new-born puppy's neck to identify it. We, at first,
called her Phoebe, a seemingly perfect match for her sweet and docile disposition,
and
an alliterative connection to our other dog, Phantom (2000–2014). Then, she got over the
intestinal bug she came home with and her true, high-spirited personality came
out. Phoebe no longer seemed like an appropriate name and after much discussion,
we chose Brandy after the golden-brown color of her coat. She was from the "American" line
of yellow Labrador Retrievers--a line that is known for its hunting prowess.
Although she never hunted in the literal sense, she was always inquisitive, searching,
and hunting for new adventures.

Richly blessed with energy,
joy, and love, Brandy lived her life with gusto and enthusiasm. Everything she
did, she did enthusiastically. She played enthusiastically,
she walked enthusiastically, she sat enthusiastically, often with just the very
tip of her tail wagging vigorously. Many times she would sit on an ottoman or
a low chair with her front paws on the floor. She
loved
her
people
and
her
bubba, Phantom, enthusiastically. She ate everything with enthusiasm whether
it was
kibble, meat,
vegetables, bugs,
frogs, or one of her favorites, foam earplugs. And just as it all went in, it
came out the other end with the same level of gusto and enthusiasm. Her ritual
of vigorously wiping her feet every time she went to the bathroom never ceased
to bring a smile to the face of those who witnessed it. She even slept enthusiastically
as attested by her vocalizations, twitching paws, and thumping tail during her
many doggie dreams. For Brandy, it was never a question of the cup being half-full
or half-empty. Her cup was always full and overflowing with life, joy, and love.

As anyone who has had
the privilege of sharing their life with a dog knows, Brandy was so much more
than a pet--she was a part of our family. Her devotion
and loyalty to us knew no limits. Her thundering, wagging tail eased the tensions
of many a long day at work or school and let us know that she loved us unconditionally.
Wherever we went in the house, she followed. If we were distributed in different
parts of the house, she would try to find a location to position herself allowing
her to
keep tabs on all of us. She especially liked to be in the kitchen with us in
the hopes
that some delectable manna might just happen to fall from above. She and Phantom
particularly loved ice cubes and cheese and had the uncanny ability to tell what
you were
getting out of the refrigerator just by the sound
it
made, even when they were at the other end of the house.

Nothing quite says "good
morning" like a cold, wet, excited dog nose
in your face. One of Brandy's favorite morning games was to wait, sitting
patiently, beside the bed for me to open my eyes in the morning. As soon as I
did, she lunged forward to greet me with her giant, wet nose. What usually followed
was a rollicking session of wrestling and belly rubbing. She had an amazing "tickle
spot" on her tummy that when scratched caused her to go into spastic leg
scratching and gnawing. Playing "lap dog" was another of her favorite
games where she would drape the upper half of her huge body over your lap and
then
taunt Phantom from above. She had so many games she loved to play: ear-bopper,
blue
jack, tug-o'-war to name a few, but probably her favorite was "Capture-the-Phantom" where
she would try to pin her brother behind the air conditioning unit in the back
yard.
Phantom didn't exactly hate it, and he would, sometimes, turn the tables
on her and chase her around the yard, much to her delight.Despite the fact that
Phantom was two years older and much more calm and sedate, Brandy adored him.
When Phantom would lie down, Brandy would typically go over
to him and "spoon" herself up next to him. As soon as she did, Phantom would
invariably drape his head over her body. She
and Phantom seemed to be joined at the hip and she never wanted to be anywhere
without
him.
She
wouldn't even go outside without him accompanying her. Whenever she wanted
to play, she would try to tempt Phantom with one toy after another until
she found the one he wanted to play with. They loved to romp together and chase
each other in the yard as well as their favorite destination--the dog beach
at Carpinteria. Neither dog was much on swimming, but they did love to chase
each other in and out of the waves at the beach. Each time we made the drive
to the beach,
as
we approached the shore on the 101 just north of Ventura, Brandy could smell
the change
in the air and would start to get worked up in anticipation of another romping
day
at the beach.

Youthful and energetic
as
always, Brandy got out of our yard shortly after 8:00PM on the evening of
October
26th,
2006 and
went
hunting for another adventure. Phantom followed, but at some point, turned around
and returned home. For whatever reason, this time she didn't stay with him. Instead,
Brandy
continued
onward,
perhaps
headed
toward
our
old house--we'll never know. We were frantically searching for her when we received
a phone call that a little before 9:00PM, Brandy had darted out into traffic
on
a
busy
street
and
was
struck
by a car.
The
driver
stopped
and rendered aid to her. Another driver in a pickup truck stopped and
took her to the Animal Emergency Care Center. As they were loading her up to
take
her
to
the
vet, they
called
us. In honor of the purple collar she was given at birth we had always gotten
purple collars for Brandy, and the one she was wearing had our phone number stitched
into it for just such an emergency. We got to the vet hospital a few minutes
later, but Brandy had already passed away. We will always be grateful for the
kindness of strangers who cared for Brandy in her final minutes. She was such
a social dog and she loved meeting people. We're relieved to know that she
didn't spend her final moments alone and frightened, but in the loving
care of people. On Sunday afternoon, November 5th, 2006--a gloriously clear and
warm
day--we brought Brandy one last time to her favorite place, the dog beach at
Carpinteria.
There,
we scattered her ashes in the water and returned her to the ocean and beach she
loved
so
much.
Brandy,
thank
you
for
your
love,
your
joy,
and
your
enthusiasm. You were a great dog, beautiful, smart, funny, expressive, happy,
and a blessing
to
our lives. We will always love you and cherish the four-and-a-half brief years
we
got to
share
with
you.
Rest
in
peace
little girl, and
happy
hunting.

Pick me! Pick
me! I'm sick, but I'll
pretend to be
sweet and docile!!! We
did.

Brandy's first day home, exploring her new world.

What is it, Phantom?

It's SUPPERTIIIIME!!!

I promise I'll be good this time!

Cuddled
up with her big brother.

If you want
the ball, you'll have to go get it!

I love the beach!!!

Cold, wet nose
anyone?

I want an ice
cube, I want an ice cube!

Who says dogs don't need chairs?

We're not joined at the hip, we're joined at the head!

Goodbye, Brandy. We miss you and we love you.
Brian, Jenny, Phillip, Cecilia, and Phantom

It's amazing
how something that can't speak can tell you so much about the joy of life.
Brandy
was enthusiastic about everything she did and lived
her life to the fullest, with unabashed joy.
Oh, that we could all live and love so
enthusiastically!